Provocation 3: The ecology of Sikh Diasporic Feminisms: Interconnected ethics of seva and sovereignty (original) (raw)

Sikh diasporic feminisms: Provocation 1

Sikh Formations, 2017

On 14th May 2017, Nirinjan Kaur Khalsa and myself helped to organize a small group of US and UK-based Sikh intellectuals and scholars to meet at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles to discuss the problem and project of Sikh diasporic feminisms. We were interested in thinking through the possibilities and limitations of this political and intel-lectual project in relation to the politics of knowledge production in the university and inacademia, the broader public spheres within which we engage, and in the context of ourown communities.Indeed, despite the ground-breaking work of an earlier generational cohort of feminist-oriented Sikh scholars who have developed original and innovative analyses of gender andsexuality studies in relation to Punjabi Sikhs in both Punjab and its diaspora communities(Axel 2001; Das 2006; Grewal 2005; Jakobsh 2010, 2003; Mahmood and Brady 2000) and in relation to Sikhi and Gurbani (Singh 2005, 2008), we find it necessary to continue to create space for ongoing conversations about the intersections of feminism and Sikhismin our current historical moment and political crossroads. While there have been intermit-tent events and initiatives in Sikh Studies which have compelled critical conversations onSikh feminisms and Sikh feminist politics, including a workshop on gender and SikhStudies at Yale University and series of conferences organized around themes of Sikhi,gender inequality, and feminism sponsored by the Canadian organization Sikh Feminist Research Institute (SAFAR) in 2011, 2012, and 2014, we hope to continue to develop research agendas in this field as a younger cohort of feminist-oriented scholars interested in Sikh Studies join the academy. We believe that the project that we name, ‘ Sikh Diasporic Feminisms has the ability to cross-cut scholarly interventions in academia, engage with multiple transnational public spheres, and speak to the general community and Sikh youth’s interests in questions of patriarchy; feminism; and gender and sexuality issues.Most recently, this general interest in issues of feminism and gender and sexuality equality among Sikh youth can be exemplified by numerous new websites and blogs devoted to transgressive and transformative writing about social issues impacting local Sikh communities

Interrogating Gender in Sikh Tradition and Practice

Religions, 2020

In contemporary Sikh society, what we consider religious is constantly being challenged, but for Sikhs, what remain constant are Sikhi's sacred texts-they continue to be the paramount teacher and guide. Within this consistency, I ask the question: how can Sikh feminist ideas of representation and identity find expression in response to our understanding/practice of our faith, our institutions, and of the everyday Sikh symbols? This paper critically examines the gendered nature of the Guru Granth, practices within the gurdwaras, and focuses on a part of the Rahit Maryada (Code of Conduct) as an area of exploration in the understanding of the everyday ascribed five symbols of Sikhi (punj kakar) through a feminist lens. I undertake this in order to gain a gendered appreciation of how the scriptures, religious institutions, and the articles of faith resonate with the feminine.

Decolonizing Sikh Studies : A Feminist Manifesto

2020

n celebrating the epistemological reform and empowerment of non-white peoples in the academy, we propose a manifesto that seeks to dislodge the complacencies within Sikh Studies and within Sikh communities, and invite non-Sikhs to engage with radical Sikhi social justice. By dwelling at feminist intersections of postcolonial studies, decolonial studies, and decolonization studies, we are inspired to share the radical possibilities of Sikh Studies, and we also urge Sikh Studies and Sikh people to inhabit an explicit political orientation of insurrection and subversion. Importantly, such a feminist decolonial orientation may well hold promise for other fields of study on the margins as well. In particular, we foreground eight points of action: gendering Sikh Studies; de-policing intimate desire and the diversity of relationships; disrupting Eurocentric knowledge production; de-territorializing diasporas; challenging caste politics; disrupting Islamophobia; undoing our roles in contemp...

Relocating Gender in Sikh History: Transformation, Meaning and Identity

2003

This work studies Sikh history and culture - lauded for its militaristic, hyper-masculine character by India's colonial rulers - from a feminist perspective, an approach that is unprecedented. Beginning with early Sikh history, the author explores "male"/"female" constructs and demonstrates in her analysis of the Sikh Sabha movement that gender politics (as based on the Victorian notions of gender) were pivotal to this endeavour.

Sikhism, Interfaith Dialogue and Women: Transformation and Identity

This article locates the study of Sikhism and gender within the wider milieu of 'women and religion'; in this context, the question of interfaith dialogue, women, and Sikhism is examined. Further, this article focuses on a recent controversy at the Golden Temple, the holiest shrine of the Sikhs. Two British amritdhari (initiated) women were refused the right to participate in the Sukhasan procession, a ritual in which Sikh scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib, is formally taken from its public platform and carried to its nightly resting place. The incident prompted a media uproar, particularly in India; it also became a hotly debated issue on the Internet. Given that the women at the centre of the controversy were 'Western' Sikhs of Punjabi origin, the incident led to a widespread petition within the diaspora. This article addresses the question of Sikh women's religious and ritual rights within the context of the apparent divide between the concerns of Sikhs in diaspora and Sikhs in the Punjab as well as interfaith concerns. It questions whether this incident is perhaps a watershed in terms of Sikh women's active engagement and resistance to discrimination within Sikh institutions and the community at large.